Mud pan with high-friction bottom wall, side walls and end walls

ABSTRACT

A mud pan for holding a small portable supply of joint compound includes a high-friction coating such as polyurethane, coating the exterior surface of the bottom wall and a lower portion of the exterior surfaces of the front side wall, the rear side wall, the left-hand end wall and the right-hand end wall. The high-friction coating is a two part polyurethane and, in an alternative embodiment, a large number of rubber particles homogeneously distributed. The polyurethane is sprayed onto the surfaces to be covered while in a liquid state. The lower one-fourth or one half of the front and rear side walls and end walls are covered, as is the entire surface of the bottom wall.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT.

[0002] Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] 1. Field of the Invention

[0004] The present invention is related to an apparatus for providing a slip-free high-friction grip for a mud pan and a method of making the same. More particularly, the present invention is directed to providing a high-friction grip on the bottom wall and side walls of a mud pan.

[0005] 2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 C.F.R. 1.97 and 1.98.

[0006] In construction of houses, apartments and other buildings, it is conventional make interior side walls and ceilings from dry wall, also know as gypsum board or wall board. In order to provide a pleasing finished appearance, it is necessary to cover the seams and gaps between pieces of adjoining dry wall. Conventionally, a paper tape is used to cover these seams and gaps and a plaster compound, commonly called joint compound or mud, is used to cover the paper tape and to smooth the joints between the pieces of dry wall.

[0007] Mud is a dry compound that is mixed with water to form a paste that adheres to the dry wall. The mud is typically applied by a worker using a putty knife. Because the worker must work quickly, he typically carries a small supply of wet mud in container called a mud pan, which is normally about 15 cm (5 inches) wide across the top and 39 cm (15.5 inches) long at the top and about 9.5 cm (4 inches) deep, with side walls that taper outwardly toward the top.

[0008] The worker wields the putty knife in one hand and holds the mud pan in the other. The putty knife is dipped into the mud in the mud pan and then scrapped against the top edge of a side wall to reduce the amount of mud on the putty knife to the desired amount and to squeegee the mud into the desired location on the putty knife. This process inevitably results in mud running down the exterior side walls of the mud pan, which makes it very slippery and therefore difficult to hold. Most mud pans are made from mirror finish stainless steel, sometimes chrome plated. The interior and exterior side walls are made as smooth and low friction as possible to reduce the amount of mud that sticks to the mud pan and to make cleaning them easier. Virtually all professional dry wall workers use such metal mud pans. Amateurs often use plastic mud pans, which are also typically made to be as smooth as possible, but these cannot be made as smooth as metal mud pans and they are not a durable. In either case, however, the desire to have a smooth slippery surface for smooth transfer of the mud to the putty knife and to ease clean up makes the mud pan even more slippery than might otherwise be expected. Therefore, worker must have a supply of rags to dry off the exterior surfaces of the mud pan or he will not be able to hold onto it for very long. With increasing pressure to work faster and more productively, the worker can ill afford to take frequent breaks to dry his mud pan.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,428, issued to Breckwoldt on Feb. 18, 1997 discloses a mud pan having an arcuate cross section resulting in a U-shaped bottom that will not stand up on its own, with a separate grip member to facilitate holding the mud pan and to allow it to rest on a horizontal surface without falling over. The main purpose of the grip is to thermally insulate the mud pan contents from the worker's hand. The grip extends outwardly from the bottom of the mud pan, preventing the worker from wrapping his hand around the bottom of the mud pan to grip the side walls, which is the preferred grip for dry wall workers. Further, the grip is a different material than the mud pan and so requires the manufacture of a separate piece, which must then be fastened to the bottom wall of the mud pan, resulting in a more expensive and complicated mud pan. Moreover, this mud pan does not improve the grip of the worker when the exterior surfaces of the side walls of the mud pan become wet

[0010] Worker efficiency would be improved if there were a conventionally shaped reasonably priced mud pan that would not become slippery during use.

[0011] Therefore, there is a need for a mud pan that is does not become slippery during use.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a mud pan that does not become slippery during use.

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide a mud pan that does not become slippery during use that is easy to make

[0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide a mud pan that does not become slippery during use that is inexpensive to make.

[0015] A mud pan according to the present invention includes a high-friction coating on the bottom wall and on lower portions of the side walls and end walls. The mud pan according to the present invention includes a metal or plastic mud pan having a coating of a high-friction surface adhered to a lower portion of the side walls and to the bottom wall of the mud pan. A suitable coating is a polyurethane finish with a large number of high-friction particles suspended in it when it is liquid and which become firmly embedded into the coating when it dries or cures. The high-friction particles may consist of rubber, artificial rubber, or the like.

[0016] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the best mode currently known to the inventor for carrying out his invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017]FIG. 1 is left-hand perspective view of a mud pan made according to the present invention.

[0018]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the mud pan of FIG. 1.

[0019]FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the mud pan of FIG. 1 and may be either a left-hand or a right-hand end elevation.

[0020]FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the mud pan of FIG. 1.

[0021]FIG. 5 is a cross section of the mud pan of FIG. 1 taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 1.

[0022]FIG. 6 is a left-hand perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a mud pan according to the present invention.

[0023]FIG. 7 is a cross section of the mud pan of FIG. 6 taken along lines 7-7 of FIG. 6.

[0024]FIG. 8 is a greatly enlarged cross section of a rubber particle embedded into a high-friction coating on portions of the exterior walls of the mud pan of FIGS. 1, 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] As required by the Patent Statutes and the case law, the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the best mode currently known to the inventor for carrying out the invention are disclosed in detail herein. The embodiments disclosed herein, however, are merely illustrative of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely to provide the proper basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains to make and use the apparatus and process disclosed herein as embodied in any appropriately specific and detailed structure.

[0026] Referring to FIGS. 1-5, the mud pan 10 includes a flat bottom wall 12 connected to a rear side wall 14 having a lower edge 15 along the left-hand edge 16 of the bottom wall 12 and a front side wall 18 having a lower edge 19 connected to the right-hand edge 20 of the bottom wall 12. The rear side wall 14, bottom wall 12 and front side wall 18 are formed of a single piece of metal that is bent along the front edge 20 and the rear edge 16. Each wall 16, 18 slopes outwardly from the bottom wall 12 at an angle of about 65-75° to and end edge of the bottom wall 12. A left-hand end wall 22 having a lower edge 23 includes an inwardly bent 90° terminal rear flange 24 and an inwardly bent 90° terminal front flange 26 that overlap and contact the end of the rear side wall 16 and the front side wall 18 respectively. Each terminal flange 24, 26 is fastened to the rear side wall 16 and the front side wall 18 by three spaced rivets 28. The right-hand end wall 30, having a lower edge 31, is similarly formed with front 26 and rear flanges 24 contacting the front side wall 18 and the rear side wall 14 respectively and each flange 24, 26, is connected to the rear side wall 14 and the front side wall 18 connected to the walls by three rivets 28 in each flange. The resulting seams are watertight. The end walls 22, 30 sloped upwardly away from the bottom wall 12 at the same angle as the front 18 and rear 14 side walls, resulting in a trapezoidal shape in elevation that is wider at the top than at the bottom. A mud pan made from plastic, typically injection molded, may also be treated as described below to derive the mud pan 10.

[0027] Along a lower portion of the front side wall 18, the rear side wall 14, the left-hand end wall 22 and the right-hand end wall 30 is a high-friction coating 32 utilizing polyurethane, preferably a two-part polyurethane having an activator or hardener such as polymerized alphatic isocyanates, which results in a roughly textured exterior surface, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 5 and which exhibits extremely strong and long lasting adhesion when applied as described below. Other coatings such as a predominately urethane, polyurethane made from a first and a second polyisocyanate, a sprayable synthetic rubber with an accelerator to hasten curing, water-based synthetic rubber, water-based acrylic with water curable liquid rubber urethane, paint, varnish, various adhesives, and the like having a high coefficient of friction may also be used provided they can properly adhere to the coated surfaces.

[0028] The high-friction coating 32 extend upwardly from the bottom wall 12 about one-fourth to one-half of the distance from the bottom wall 12 to the top edge 34 of the mud pan 10 and no further because if the high-friction coating 32 extends higher, it will be scrapped by the putty knife when the worker removes mud from the exterior surface of the side walls where it inevitable accumulates during use. In the preferred embodiment, the high-friction coating 32 extends upwardly from the bottom wall 12 a distance of about 1.3 cm ({fraction (1/29)} inches). Further, a dry wall worker grips a mud pan by placing their the palm of his hand on the bottom wall 12 and wrapping his fingers upward around either the font side wall 18 or the rear side wall 14 and his thumb upward around the opposite side wall. His fingers and thumb extend upwardly along the walls about one-fourth to one-half the distance to the top edge 34 of the mud pan 10, making it unnecessary to coat a greater portion of the exterior surfaces of the walls. Further, the high-friction coating 32 forms a distinct and pronounced sharp edge or ledge 35 at its uppermost location, as best seen in FIG. 5, forming a sharp edge having a 90° angle where the exterior surface of the mud pan 10 meets the edge 35 and another 90° where the ledge 35 meets the downward sloping high-friction coating 32. The edge or ledge 35 extends about the entire perimeter of the mud pan 10. This sharp edge 35 further contributes to the non-slip grip of the mud pan 10.

[0029] In applying the high-friction coating 32, the surfaces not to be coated are masked and the surface to be coated is cleaned of any rust, grease or dirt and scuffed with a 180 grit or finer grinding medium. The surfaces to be coated are first primed, preferably with an expoy primer and then the coating 32 is applied by spraying or rolling. The surfaces to be coated must primed prior to application of the high-friction coating 32 to ensure good adhesion to the coated surfaces. Curing can be accelerated by heating.

[0030] Referring to FIGS. 6, 7, there is shown an alternative embodiment of the mud pan 10, in which the bottom wall 36 has a curved bottom and the front side wall 38 and rear side wall 40 are formed by bending a single sheet of metal into a channel shape. The left-hand end wall 42 and the right-hand side wall 44 are formed and attached as described above in connection with FIGS. 1-5. The high-friction coating 32 is applied in the same fashion and consists of the same compound as that utilized in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-5, but includes a large number of embedded high friction rubber particles 46 distributed throughout, preferably homogeneously distributed by thorough mixing prior to application. The high-friction particles 46 can be made from rubber, synthetic rubber or other high-friction gripping material.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 8, a typical rubber or synthetic rubber particle 46 preferably irregular and rough surface features 48 including the spikes 50 that increase the effective frictional grip of the rubber particles 46 by forming engaging ridges, but are relatively soft, increasing the effective coefficient of friction. Synthetic rubber and the like are similarly shaped when utilized with the mud pan 10. The high-friction coating 32 is applied to all the covered surfaces at one time resulting in a coating that has no seams or joints. The high-friction coating 32 is relatively thick, having a thickness that preferably falls into a range of about 2-7 mm ({fraction (1/16)}-½ inch), with a preferred thickness of about 0.32 cm (⅛ inch). The high-friction coating 32 does not wear appreciably during normal use. The rubber particles 46 may range in size from about 1-8 mm ({fraction (1/16)}-⅜ inches) in cross section, approximately a diameter, with the preferred size being about 0.3 cm (⅛ inch).

[0032] While the present invention has been described in accordance with the preferred embodiments thereof, the description is for illustration only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. 

I claim:
 1. A mud pan comprising: a. a bottom wall connected to a front side wall, a rear side wall, a left-hand end wall and a right-hand end wall to form a mud pan; b. means for preventing said mud pan from becoming slippery when used by a worker.
 2. A mud pan in accordance with claim 1 wherein said means for preventing said mud pan from becoming slippery further comprises a high-friction coating on at least a portion of an exterior surface of said mud pan.
 3. A mud pan in accordance with claim 2 wherein said high-friction coating is applied to an exterior surface of said bottom wall.
 4. A mud pan in accordance with claim 2 wherein said high-friction coating covers a portion of an exterior surface of said front side wall, of said rear side wall, of said left-hand end wall and of said right-hand end wall.
 5. A mud pan in accordance with claim 4 wherein said high-friction coating covers said exterior surfaces of said front side wall, said rear side wall, said left-hand end wall and said right-hand end wall from a lower edge of each said front side wall, said rear side wall, said left-hand end wall and said right-hand end wall and extends upwardly for a distance in the range of one-fourth to one-half of the distance from said bottom wall to a top edge of said mud pan.
 6. A mud pan in accordance with claim 5 wherein said coating further comprises an upper edge defining a ledge along said mud pan where said high-friction coating contacts said mud pan.
 7. A mud pan in accordance with claim 2 wherein said high-friction coating further comprises a polyurethane coating.
 8. A mud pan in accordance with claim 2 wherein said high-friction coating further comprises a plurality of rubber particles.
 9. A mud pan in accordance with claim 2 wherein said high-friction coating further comprises a mixture of polyurethane and rubber particles.
 10. A mud pan comprising: a. a bottom wall connected to a front side wall, a rear side wall, a left-hand end wall and a right-hand end wall to form a mud pan; and b. a high-friction coating on at least a portion of an exterior surface of said mud pan.
 11. A mud pan in accordance with claim 10 wherein said high-friction coating covers a portion of an exterior surface of said front side wall, of said rear side wall, of said left-hand end wall and of said right-hand end wall.
 12. A mud pan in accordance with claim 10 wherein said high-friction coating covers said exterior surfaces of said front side wall, said rear side wall, said left-hand end wall and said right-hand end wall from a lower edge of each said front side wall, said rear side wall, said left-hand end wall and said right-hand end wall and extends upwardly for a distance in the range of one-fourth to one-half of the distance from said bottom wall to a top edge of said mud pan.
 13. A mud pan in accordance with claim 5 wherein said coating further comp rises an upper edge defining a ledge along said mud pan where said high-friction coating contacts said mud pan.
 14. A mud pan in accordance with claim 10 wherein said high-friction coating further comprises a polyurethane coating.
 15. A mud pan in accordance with claim 14 wherein said high-friction coating further comprises a plurality of rubber particles.
 16. A mud pan comprising: a. a bottom wall connected to a front side wall, a rear side wall, a left-hand end wall and a right-hand end wall to form a mud pan; and b. a high-friction coating covering at least a portion of an exterior surface said front side wall, of said rear side wall, of said left-hand end wall and of said right-hand end wall wherein said high-friction coating covers said exterior surfaces of said front side wall, said rear side wall, said left-hand end wall and said right-hand end wall from a lower edge of each said front side wall, said rear side wall, said left-hand end wall and said right-hand end wall and extends upwardly for a distance in the range of one-fourth to one-half of the distance from said bottom wall to a top edge of said mud pan.
 17. A mud pan in accordance with claim 16 wherein said coating further comprises an upper edge defining a ledge along said mud pan where said high-friction coating contacts said mud pan.
 18. A mud pan in accordance with claim 16 wherein said high-friction coating further comprises a polyurethane coating.
 19. A mud pan in accordance with claim 18 wherein said high-friction coating further comprises a plurality of rubber particles.
 20. A mud pan in accordance with claim 16 wherein said high-friction coating further comprises a mixture of polyurethane and rubber particles 